I Danced With the Devil
by Rockstar River
Summary: During Jack's senior year of highschool Evelyn takes in a troubled teenager with a past much like Jack's. Too much like Jack's.
1. Chapter 1

_**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing other than my original characters.**_

Jack inhaled deeply, taking in the smells of home, as he stepped into the quiet house. He had only been gone visiting his brother for two weeks, but he was grateful to be back. He kicked off his scuffed boots in the hallway and closed the porch door behind him.

"Ma?" he called softly into the house. He heard movement and moments later his mother appeared in the living room.

"Jackie!" she held her arms out and greeted him with a warm hug. "How was your visit?"

"It was good." Evelyn released him from her grasp and he tossed his backpack against the wall. "But you know Jerry. Schedules, schedules, schedules. It was like being on a fucking museum tour for two weeks straight."

"Language," Evelyn scolded. She chuckled remembering how her second eldest son was always the most organized. "That's Jerry. But it's good. You need the structure."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," laughed Jack. He bent down and retrieved his backpack. "I'm gonna go unpack," he said.

"Jackie, wait. We need to talk." It was then Jack took notice the extra pair of shoes in the entry way, the extra coat on the hook, and the manila folder sitting on the coffee table.

"You took in a kid, didn't you?" Evelyn nodded her head slowly. It was as if she had been afraid to tell Jack. He didn't mind. His brothers had all moved out and it was lonely sometimes. Having a kid around might not be so bad.

Evelyn took Jack gently by the hand and lead him to the couch. "I want to tell you about him before you meet him. He's been… Well he's had, well," she paused. "You and him have a lot of things in common." She shook her head sadly. "Too much in common."

"What things?" Jack asked feeling his stomach drop. It had been a long time since he and Evelyn had spoken of his past.

"I don't think it's beneficial to talk about…"

"Mom," Jack interjected calmly. "What things?"

Evelyn took a deep breath and squeezed her youngest son's hand. "Among other things, he lived with the Roe's for about six months. That was about a year after you were there."

"Shit," Jack sighed at the mention of his last foster family before Evelyn took him in. He had been trying to forget the horrors he'd lived through ever since but the memories still haunted him. "Does he, uh. Does he know about me?"

"No, I figured I'd let you tell him if you wanted him to know." Jack nodded his head. His mind was racing with thoughts and memories but he forced them out as best as he could.

Evelyn took the folder off the coffee table and took out a picture. She handed it to Jack. The boy in the picture was very thin and, like Jack, had messy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His left eyebrow sported a piece of jewelry as did each of his earlobe. He looked shy and his eyes were dancing with fear.

"His name is Lee," explained Evelyn. "He's fifteen and he's been in the system since he was seven. I don't know how long he'll be staying, but it might be a while. I'm having a hard time finding a family to take him."

Jack nodded again and handed the photo back to his mother. "Can I meet him?"

"I think he might be asleep. He was still pretty hurt when I brought him home from the hospital. But let's go see." Evelyn stood up and Jack followed her lead.

Jack felt nervous as he and Evelyn stood outside the door to the bedroom that had been his brother, Angel's. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he would be meeting someone who, like himself, had danced with the devil. And survived.

_**Thanks for reading =)**_

_**Please leave reviews… I'd like to improve on anything I can.**_

_***River**_


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: Thank you to DiexGaaf and sisterdear for reviewing! I appreciate it a lot and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.**

***River**

Lee flinched slightly, startled by the soft knock on the door. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Evelyn's voice call his name from the other side. He liked Evelyn. She was different than any of his previous foster parents. He couldn't tell what was different about her, but she made him feel safe.

"Come in," he said to the closed door.

The door opened slowly revealing Evelyn and a boy he hadn't met.

"May we come in?" Evelyn asked gently. He nodded his head and they made their way in the small bedroom. "Lee, I want you to meet my youngest son, Jack."

The taller boy smiled and gave a small wave. "Hi, Lee."

Lee stared intently at his feet for a moment before mumbling hello. Jack was right; the new kid was painfully shy. The black eye and cast on his arm made him look incredibly fragile and Jack's heart went out for him.

"How are you feeling?" Evelyn questioned.

"Much better," came the almost inaudible reply.

A few moments passed in awkward silence before Jack broke it. "I was thinking of going for a walk. Wanna come?" Lee looked up at Evelyn for as if asking for permission. She smiled and nodded.

"Okay," he said. His voice was nervous and timid but also pure and innocent.

"Please be home by six, okay? I'm going to start dinner in just a few minutes," Evelyn said ushering the boys out of the room.

The three of them made their way onto the screened porch where Jack put on his leather jacket and Lee slid his feet into his torn Converse tennis shoes. Evelyn made a mental note of the condition of the shoes before waving the boys off.

Moments later they were walking down the cool Detroit street. It was autumn and leaves were beginning to fall. They walked silently as Jack took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. Lee watched longingly as he lit it and took a long drag.

"Can I bum one?" He was shocked by his own behavior. He never would have imagined _asking _for something from someone else, but he felt different around Jack, the same way he felt different around Evelyn. It was almost as if they had a mutual understanding, some sort of connection that he couldn't figure out yet.

Jack held the pack out to him. "Of course." Jack was just as surprised as Lee was by his request. He smiled, though, remembering how shy and afraid he had been when he first came to the Mercer home. He hoped maybe he could break Lee out of his shell the same way his brothers had done for him.

"Your mom doesn't care if you smoke?" Lee wasn't sure why, but he was eager to keep the conversation going and learn more about his foster brother.

"We sorta have a deal," Jack replied. He ashed his cigarette and continued. "I can smoke but only outside, no more than two packs a week, and in return I don't do any drugs whatsoever."

"Wow, that's cool."

"Yeah, she decided to take the lesser of the two evils I guess." Jack exhaled deeply, missing the days when he was able to get high and forget everything. It was much harder without them, but he didn't want to hurt his mother over something so petty. "And don't tell her I gave you one. She'd kill me," Jack added.

"I won't," Lee replied.

Jack smiled at the younger boy. He seemed to be relaxing. "So, tell me about yourself."

"Um," Lee paused and looked uncomfortable. He wondered why Jack wanted to know about him and what his intentions were. "What d'you wanna know?"

"I don't know," Jack ran a hand through his hair and let it flop over his eyes. "Ma said you're fifteen, right? Two years younger than me. What are you into?"

"Fifteen, yeah. Um, I dunno. I like music a lot. Never been into sports. I hate school."

Jack nodded. He finished his cigarette and crushed to butt with his boot. "You'll have to meet Tiger Lily sometime."

"Who?"

"My guitar," Jack explained. "Her name is Tiger Lily."

"Like from Peter Pan." Lee put his head down after he spoke, fearing Jack would mistake his notice for sarcasm.

"Exactly." Lee relaxed a little; his interjection didn't seem to bother Jack. "See, I had this thing when I was little where if something bad was happening I'd pretend I was in Neverland. I dunno, just always liked that story I guess."

"I find it hard to believe anything bad could ever happen in Evelyn's house," Lee mumbled. He wasn't sure where it came from; that's that kind of comment one usually keeps to themselves. But it was too late to take it back.

Jack stopped walking and stared at Lee. His face looked flushed and his eyes were big with emotion. "I didn't live with my Ma until four years ago," he said flatly.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know," Lee said quickly.

"It's okay." Jack started walking again and Lee followed beside him. "My brothers are all adopted too."

Lee finished his cigarette and flicked it to the ground. "How many brothers do you have?"

"Four. Bobby's the oldest. Then there's Jerry, and then Angel. And you." Lee looked up at Jack with obvious confusion in his eyes. Jack chuckled. "Apparently nobody told you how the Mercer house works. As soon as you step in the house you become part of our family. I lived there almost a year before Ma gave up looking for a home for me but I was still one of the brothers. And so are you."

"What do you mean she gave up?"

Jack chuckled again. "You're not from Detroit, are you?" Lee shook his head, no, and Jack continued. "My Ma's known around here for taking in fuck ups and lost causes. She kind of a last resort. You should feel special. You made the cut."

"Yeah, real special," Lee mumbled sarcastically.

"It's really not so bad. I mean once you're in school nobody will fuck with you. Who knows. Maybe someday you'll really be a Mercer." Jack shrugged.

Lee started walking faster back toward the house. "Yeah, don't get my hopes up," he said sadly. He knew Jack was just trying to help, but he didn't want to think about getting comfortable and then being sent away. Again. It hurt too much.

Jack sped up his pace to catch up. "Lee, wait. I didn't mean it like that," he called as he followed Lee up the porch steps.

"I know, it's cool," Lee said sarcastically, shutting the front door in Jack's face.

"Shit," he mumbled. He stared at the door for a few seconds contemplating whether he should try to explain or just let Lee be alone. His thoughts were cut short when he heard a car horn blast behind him. Jack's face exploded into a grin has he turned around and saw a face he hadn't seen in months.

"The hell you doin' outside ya little fairy?"

**Thanks again for reading! Leave me stuff =}**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you again to DiexGaaf and sisterdear for reviewing. Also thank you to Leriana for the review. You guys are great!**

***River **

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked as Bobby pulled him into a tight hug. He pushed Jack away and ran a hand over his head, messing up his already messy hair.

"What do you think I'm doin'? Ma called. Apparently she's brought home a fucked up kid." Bobby draped his arm over Jack's shoulders and the two brothers walked toward the door.

"I dunno," Jack shrugged. "We went for a walk. He seems pretty normal to me."

Bobby scoffed. "Yeah, to you. That's promising, Jackie."

"Whatever, man."

Jack opened the door and he and Bobby made their way inside. Evelyn emerged from the kitchen smiling from ear to ear. "Welcome home, son."

"It's good to be back, Ma." Evelyn smiled again, patted Bobby on the arm, and turned to go back to the kitchen.

"Jack," she called over her shoulder, "will you go tell Lee dinner is ready? Bobby, set the table for four please?"

Jack left the living room and Bobby followed his mother into the kitchen. She went to the stove and he started pulling plates out of the cabinet. "Seems like Jack likes the new kid," he observed.

"I expect they'll get along nicely. I do appreciate you coming home, though, Bobby. I," she paused and looked at her oldest son. He had changed so much since he had first come to live with her nearly eleven years ago. He was become a good man, though he still didn't like to use his head all the time. "I don't think this is going to be easy."

"Oh come on, Ma." Bobby began placing the dishes on the table. "You raised the four of us. How much worse could it get?"

"That's the thing, Bobby. I wonder all the time what I could've done better. I mean, Jackie's still not sleeping through the night and I know he's still playing with the past. Lee and Jack have very similar cases."

"You can't blame yourself, Ma. You did a great job with us all. Jack's come a long way even if it's still not perfect."

Bobby and Evelyn were both cut short in the conversation when Jack and Lee entered the dinning room. "What's goin' on?" Jack asked.

"Just catching up," Evelyn smiled.

Jack walked over to his seat at the table and stood beside it. It wasn't long before he took notice of Lee standing in the doorway, staring wide-eyed and fearful at Bobby. He scolded himself mentally for not being more mindful. Of course the kid was going to be scared of Bobby. Jack should have introduced them right away.

"Lee," Jack held his arm out toward Bobby, "this is my brother, Bobby."

"Hey, nice to meet you," Bobby said cheerfully. He extended his hand to Lee but instead of shaking it the terrified teen took a step back from it.

He desperately wanted to stop staring at Bobby, but his eyes wouldn't obey. He felt like he needed to keep a close watch on him just in case he decided to try anything. To his relief, Bobby retracted his hand and went to the head of the table. Evelyn took her place at the other end and Lee stood by the chair opposite from Jack.

Lee stood back and watched uncomfortably as the Mercers took each other by the hands while Evelyn said a prayer. He was grateful she hadn't asked him to join in.

With the grace spoken and the food ready on the table, Evelyn and the boys took their seats and began to pass the dishes. Lee stared dutifully at his plate, taking a small helping of mashed potatoes, while the others ate.

Evelyn watched the scene before her. Lee had hardly eaten enough to feed a kitten since he'd been in her home and it concerned her. He was skinny as it was, and meal times clearly made him very uncomfortable. She made a note to talk to him about it, but not now. She didn't want to make a scene in front of Jack and Bobby.

"Lee, would you like some corn to go with your potatoes?" she asked, holding the dish of corn out. He shook his head, no, and said a quiet 'no thank you' before going back to pushing his food around the plate.

"Come on man, eat up. Ma's a great cook," Bobby said looking from Lee to his mother and back again.

"The food is great," Lee said quickly, afraid they had taken his not eating as an insult. "I'm just not very hungry."

"That's okay," Evelyn said before Bobby could interject again. "We always have snacks or leftovers in the kitchen so if you get hungry later you can help yourself."

Jack pushed his chair away and started clearing the table once everyone had finished their meal. "Hey, LeeLee, Let me ask you a question," Bobby asked as Lee pushed his chair back into the table.

"It's Lee," he replied boldly. He wasn't sure where this sudden courage came from, but he regretted his comment instantly when Bobby turned to look at him. "My name," he said meekly putting his head down. "It's, it's Lee."

"Right. Well, I gotta ask. Are you gay?"

Lee froze. He opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. Was he gay? He had slept with men before but it was never consensual nor had he approved it. Was that the same? He didn't know. His eyes darted around the room searching for the protection of Evelyn or Jack but he was alone with this man who could take him out with one punch.

"I'm just curious," Bobby continued, oblivious to the younger boys inner turmoil. "I mean, little Jackie hasn't come out yet but I thought maybe you could help him. Ya know, if you are gay." Bobby took a step closer and put his arm around Lee's stiff shoulders.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Lee shrieked, ducking out from Bobby's arm. He felt tears forming in his eyes and he began to shake uncontrollably.

"Shit man, I'm sorry," Bobby offered sincerely. Lee backed away quickly and nearly knocked himself and Jack over as they collided in the doorway.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jack asked, having heard the commotion from the kitchen.

"We're fine," Lee said with a shaky voice. "I'm sorry for shouting." The tears Lee had been holding back began to fall and he hurriedly wiped them away.

"Come on," Jack said. He motioned toward the backdoor and stepped to the side so Lee could pass by. "Let's have a smoke and calm down."

Lee stood still, staring at Bobby with a look Jack had never seen before for a moment before finally looking away and walking past Jack to the back steps. Jack followed close behind turning to give Bobby nothing more than an angry glare before closing the storm door behind him.


End file.
